Senior officers should publicly declare all contact with journalists as Lord
Justice Leveson proposes an end to “off the record” briefings.

He also called for the names of those arrested or suspected of a crime to be withheld from the press, unless there are exceptional circumstances such as an immediate risk to the public.

The Home Office should also consider whether journalists should have to sign a contract with all their confidential sources in order to protect them, the Leveson report said.

The Appeal Court judge was it was "certainly remarkable that Parliament might have provided greater protection for journalistic material than in relation to legal professional privilege as a matter of general law".

All officers of the rank of commander or assistant chief constable and above should have to “record all of their contact with the media” and make it publicly available, the report added.

So-called “off the record” briefings should also be scrapped amid public concern, “not least owing to the perception that certain journalists were favoured with information in exchange for hospitality or other tangible benefits”, Lord Justice Leveson said.

“I am concerned about the lack of clarity inherent in the use of the term and in the precise information to which it refers,” he said.

Instead, they should be replaced with briefings which are either embargoed to a particular time or completely non-reportable briefings covering the background of cases or operations.

These terms “more neutrally describe what are legitimate police and media interactions”, he said.

Guidance for forces taking the press on operations should also be strengthened and, more generally, “I think that it should be made abundantly clear that save in exceptional and clearly identified circumstances, the names or identifying details of those who are arrested or suspected of a crime should not be released to the press nor the public”, he added.

It was also “good practice” for a press officer to be present “in circumstances where policy or organisation matters may be on the agenda for discussion”, the judge said.

Senior officers’ records of their contact with the media “need be no more than a very brief note to the effect that a conversation has taken place and the subject matter of that conversation”, his report said.

“Where the discussion involves a more significant operational or organisational matter, then it may be sensible for a more detailed note to be retained.”

Chief Constable Andy Trotter, the lead on communications for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said it would consider all the recommendations carefully.

"Police should have a professional, open and transparent relationship with the public and the media,” he said.

“The media can provide a vital role in communicating with the public, helping society to solve crime, and holding public institutions to account.”

Journalists' hotline

Journalists who feel under pressure from their editors to get stories through unethical methods should have access to a whistle-blowing hotline to report their concerns, the report said.

Lord Justice Leveson also said publishers should be encouraged to introduce a “conscience clause” into journalists’ contracts that would protect them if they refused to break their code of practice.

This represents a victory for the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), which had called for such a measure to protect journalists who feel they are being forced to behave unethically.

Unexpectedly, the move received the backing of Rupert Murdoch, the News Corporation chairman and chief executive, who told the inquiry it was a “good idea”, although he would not want to implement it through the NUJ.

Lord Justice Leveson said in his report: “I was struck by the evidence of journalists who felt that they might be put under pressure to do things that were unethical or against the code.

“I therefore suggest that the new independent self-regulatory body should establish a whistle-blowing hotline and encourage its members to ensure that journalists’ contracts include a conscience clause protecting them if they refuse.”

Michelle Stanistreet, the NUJ’s general secretary, welcomed the recommendation, saying: “Now is the time to build a solid framework that gives journalists the confidence and the security to put their head above the parapet and take a stand for ethical journalism.

“A journalist should always have the right to refuse assignments and no journalist should be disciplined or suffer detriment to their career for asserting his or her right to act ethically.”